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Terminology
This page is a work in progress. It will be updated sporadically, with seemingly-random organization until completed. *'Light of the Soul:' The Light of the Soul - or simply, Light - is the physical manifestation of the soul of an individual. Only Awakened individuals can manifest the Light of their Soul. It can be used through simple willpower. The Light of the Soul is akin to a metaphysical muscle, and it can be trained accordingly. It will protect and aid the user, enhancing their abilities, serving as weapons, shields, or tools, and countless other things. It is referred to as the Light of the Soul because using it often creates light - i.e. it glows. Some individuals have so much Light that it is visible passively. **'Awakened:' An Awakened Individual is someone who has gained access to the Light of their Soul, and by extension, their Spark. It is possible to Awaken oneself through many means, though the easiest is to have someone do it for you. **'Spark:' A Spark is a unique manifestation of the Light of the Soul - a power unique to a single individual. Sparks are specific, innate, and unique - while there may be several Sparks that fall under one broad category, no two Sparks are identical in every way. ***'Abilities:' In general, Sparks grant a single, specific ability - such as the ability to create invisible planes of force, or to sense and manipulate emotions. The usage of this ability can be extremely broad. ***'Limitations:' Sparks are capable of bending physics - but not outright breaking it. Any Sparks that perform some physical action requiring energy must obtain that energy from somewhere - usually the Light of the Soul. Sparks that modify mass must deal with that mass somehow that does not violate physics. **'Soul Projection:' The ability to project the Light of your Soul out into the physical world. Most Sparks operate via Soul Projection - the simplest form is a bolt of energy, typically shot from the hand. ***'Soul Barrier:' The Light of the Soul can easily be shaped into a barrier to protect oneself from harm - typically appearing as a form-fitting 'armor' equally distant from all points of the body, or a simple two-dimensional plane. Any other setup is extremely difficult to maintain. ***'Soul Constructs:' A deceptively-difficult modification of Soul Barriers - the ability to create tangible objects out of the Light of the Soul. Typically these objects are extremely temporary and unstable - an attempt to make a sword may just make an unstable, easily-broken shape. **'Soul Manipulation:' The ability to manipulate the Light of the Soul. This does not directly modify the soul itself - merely the Light projected from it. In the most literal sense, all Sparks are a form of innate soul manipulation. In essence, Soul Manipulation is the 'thought' to Soul Projection's 'action.' *'The Light of Creation:' The primordial Light of Creation - the primal force that governs all things. It is believed that the Light of the Soul is simply the Light of Creation channeled through a specific soul. It is believed that all things in Eden are made of the Light of Creation - matter, energy, souls, and all. *'The Sephirot:' Ten mysterious 'emnations' that shape the Light of Creation. The Archangels are closely associated with them - it is believed that they are 'metaphysical elements' of the world - much like the physical world has fundamental particles. *'Angels:' The Angels were the first Awakened civilization - many were cruel, others apathetic towards the rest of mankind. They conquered the known world and built wonders both terrible and great - before they were utterly annihilated by their own hubris *'Demons:' The term 'demon' has a number of uses - originally, it was used to refer to the enemies of the Angels. Nowadays, the term 'demon' - or 'daemon' - is generally used to refer to 'independent' soul constructs, especially ones from a Spark. Such an example would be a Spark that created a seemingly-independent 'body' to fight with, a supposed second 'mind' within the soul. *'Archangels:' The Ten Archangels were the greatest - and last - creation of the Angels. Ten individuals of immense power, built from the husks of countless souls broken down and condensed into their forms. The Ten Archangels ruled - and perhaps, still rule - Eden since the fall of the Angels. *'Guf:' The mysterious home of the Archangels - a dimension supposedly above the world. Its existence is known and easily verified by any individual with Sparks that allow them to glimpse other realities - and none have ever found a means of entering it. *'Archangel Shrines:' Ten structures that appeared after the War in Heaven - one in each capital city. The Archangel Shrines seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and emit arcane power across the country - power that is often harnessed for electricity. *'Valuable Materials:' There are a number of materials that are valuable - or no longer valuable - within Eden. **'Gold, Silver, and Platinum:' Gold, once considered precious, is now almost universally worthless - courtesy of someone finally uncovering how to transmute metals to silver, gold, and platinum. **'Iridium:' The rarity of iridium makes it a valuable precious metal - further compounded by the fact that nobody has figured out how to economically transmute it yet. **'Currency:' Currencies in Eden are typically found in the form of polymer bills with embedded electronics - it is the electronics that carry the actual value, and they are easily detectable and verifiable. **'Khamite:' Found in the Dominion of Gevurah and named after the Archangel, Khamite is a ruby-colored crystal that is known to glow in the dark. It is valued as a potent energy storage medium - with a simple charging cradle, it can both accept and discharge electricity and several forms of magic. Small crystals are almost worthless, for storage capacity increases exponentially with size. However, large Khamite crystals are rather rare. **'Archangel Remnants:' Pieces of extremely advanced technology found in the aftermath of the War in Heaven - believed to be developed by the Archangels. Typically found in the form of extremely advanced materials, but fully-functional machines and devices have been known to exist. **'Nanocomposites:' A broad category of materials, generally referring to composites that include nanomaterials such as fullerenes - graphene, carbon nanotubes, and so on. *'The Angel War:' The war between the Angels and the Archangels nearly ten thousand years ago. **'Insidia:' A supposedly-intelligent bioweapon used against the Angels. The exact details have been lost to history. *'The War in Heaven:' The war among the Archangels and the Ten Dominions of Eden roughly one hundred years ago. *'Technology:' **'Space:' Eden is capable of limited spaceflight - there are no significant interplanetary pursuits, however there is a significant network of satellites, primarily for communication and GPS usage. Rocketry is a relatively-underdeveloped field, compared to other technologies. **'Power Generation:' Small-scale power generation is usually done via solar panels or graphene-based supercapacitors rather than chemical batteries. Large-scale power generation is done via converting the arcane energy outputted by the Archangel Shrines into electricity. For locations without access to this power, fusion power is typically used - or, in the case of the Dominion of Chesed, tidal power. Other, lesser forms of power generation are used, though non-renewable fuel sources are rare. Fission plants are still in use, however - primarily as isotope sources, rather than power generators. **'Computing Technology:' Computers are almost unimaginably advanced. ***'Size:' Most computers are essentially invisible - oftentimes they will be embedded in clothing, a sort of 'thinking fabric.' However, such sizes are not absurdly common, as small machines often have to deal with significant interference from magic. ***'Power:' A typical smartphone - or, more likely, holophone - has enough storage and power to essentially do anything the user desires, provided they have the right program. Program development times are relatively slow, in comparison. ***'Type:' Most computers use a quantum format, rather than a digital one. The current 'age' is known as the Quantum Age. ***'Intelligence:' 'True' self-aware artificial intelligence exists, roughly on-par with ordinary human intelligence - however, this is an area of bleeding-edge research and development. **'Automation and Robotics:' 'Human' robots exist, and are often indistinguishable at a glance - however, intelligent androids are extremely rare as advanced artificial intelligence is still in its infancy. **'Transportation:' Most transporation in Eden is done on foot or via airship. Most vehicles are self-driving and free for public access. City transportation is usually done via subway system, monorail, or other form of public transportation. *'Magic:' Eden has access to powerful magic, believed to be from the Light of the Soul bending natural law. **'Circle Magic:' A potent and versatile form of magic - and extremely formulaic to the point where computer simulations can easily model the effects. Circle Magic is capable of nearly any effect, however a complex ritual circle must be made first - and energy provided to it - before any effect can be made real. **'Phytokinesis:' The ability to enhance and control plantlife. Typically done via specific patterns of thought, alongside any other form of 'kinesis' magic. Usually used by farmers, botanists, florists, and the occasional mad scientist focused on bioweapons. **'Interference:' The sheer variety of magic available on Eden interferes with small-scale technology. As such, nano-scale and smaller machinery typically needs to be shielded, lest it suffer malfunctions due to constantly-varying arcane fields. **'Shielding:' Arcane shielding is done via dense, pure, and elemental materials - as such, alloys will not work, only pure substances. Isotopic purity is ideal, but not necessary. As density is required, dense metals are used - typically iridium, thanks to its density and corrosion resistance, contributing to iridium's value as a precious metal. **'Arcane Energy:' A catch-all term for any form of magic-exclusive energy. **'Arcane Field:' A catch-all term for any form of magic-exclusive field effect. Category:Information